| 80. | The ways in which the constituent agents of a mixed exposure interact vary considerably. Some mixed exposures involve agents that act on different body tissues or organs, or by different toxicological mechanisms, these various effects being independent of each other. Other mixtures will include agents that act on the same organs, or by similar mechanisms, so that the effects reinforce each other and the agents are additive in their effect. In some cases the overall effect is considerably greater than the sum of the individual effects and the system is synergistic. This may arise from mutual enhancement of the effects of the constituents or because one agent potentiates another, causing it to act in a way which it would not do alone. |
